Pictet North America Advisors SA Increases Stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,211 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $4,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 24.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 439,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,695,000 after purchasing an additional 87,631 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,966,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,223,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 46.6% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,510,000 after buying an additional 11,034 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Philip Morris International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up previously from $156.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.80.

Philip Morris International Trading Down 2.5%

PM opened at $177.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $276.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.61, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.51. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.80 and a 12 month high of $186.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $176.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.71.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Philip Morris International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.34%.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.